60, 125

On occasion of Independence Day,  a snippet of our history:
This year, Indian celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Republic, and the 125th anniversary of the Indian National Congress. The INC was the single most instrumental body in gaining independence for India, comprising of giants like Patel, Nehru, Rajaji, Kriplani and Azad. This institution underwent two pivotal transformations before it could become the effective body that shook the British Empire.

Transformation 1- An ideological split: The INC was founded by the British (Hume), as a body evidently subservient to the British Raj. Well meaning Indians got to play at Government without any impact to the British. All this changed in the 23rd session of the Congress in 1907. The unrest building up against the British Raj bubbled up in the session, with the nationalist faction wanting the INC to adopt Swaraj as a goal. They were up against the Moderates, who wanted to solve the problems by petitioning the British Raj. This classic struggle resulted in a tumultuous (chappals flew!) session, resulting in the first ever split of the INC. The nationalists, led by Tilak, took away most of the delegates and declared Swaraj as an objective, which changed the hue of history in the decades to come. On that day, to quote the article: The Bengalee of Surendranath Bannerji bore this headline: “The Congress is Dead — Long Live the Congress.” You will find the highly riveting account of that session here:

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/12/30/stories/2007123050120400.htm

This was the first and only split of the INC on the basis of ideology. In the article, there is a moving narration about how Mr Gokhale, though a moderate, sought to protect the Nationalist Tilak from the ire of the mob that stormed the stage. Ideologies differed, but these intellectuals valued those differences.

Transformation 2- Man with a vision: Despite its advances, the INC remained an urban elite movement. Its transformation to a nation wide force required one catalyst: Gandhi. Ramachandra Guha addresses it neatly in his article http://indiatogether.org/2010/jan/rgh-gandhi.htm

Gandhiji achieved this in three ways, to quote from the article:

First, he encouraged the Congress to function in the vernacular, building up provincial committees that operated in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Oriya and in other languages of the people. 


Next, he brought in peasants and women, two groups that had previously been excluded from the proceedings. 


Third, he campaigned to abolish untouchability and to promote Hindu-Muslim harmony, seeking to answer the charge that the Congress was a party of banias and Brahmins. 


Fourth, he worked to nurture a second rung of political leadership that would work with him in deepening the social base of the Congress and make it truly representative of the nation-in-the-making.

In a later part of the article:

The Republic of India came into being through the patient work of countless men and women. The Congress party was likewise a collective enterprise. That said, it was one Indian, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who did most to ensure that our political system would be based on democracy and pluralism. It was the same man who did most to make the Congress party a truly national institution.


A salute to those visionaries on this occasion!